Pack-n-play dilemma--Update 10-25-11

UPDATE:

So, we traveled to my parents. We put a door knob cover on the inside of the door. We never needed it. The girls never attempted to climb out of the PNP. I am starting to wonder if daycare saw K attempting to climb out. She somtimes puts her feet up on the sides, and thought she could climb out. I will have to ask, I guess.

Apparently, my girls know how to climb out of a PNP. The daycare said that they have been climbing out there and they had to move them to the big kids room for naps. Obviously, we do not use PNPs at our house and only use them when we travel. The dilemma is that we travel to my parents in October to go to a local pumpkin farm with the kids. The girls sleep in my parents' office in their PNPs. Obviously, that is not a solution. I offered to move Isaiah into their office and put them in the bedroom with us on two inflatable sleeping bags or something, but my mom doesn't seem to think it will be safe. I guess I feel that they can babyproof the bedroom. All they would need to do is put outlet plugs in the outlets. There isn't anything else in there except a bed and a chair. We can put a gate at the top of their stairs and I think it will be fine. So, I have no real ideas for what to do. We cannot afford a hotel and it is not like a hotel is any safer.

Spark's been able to climb out of her PNP for months. Since we couldn't afford a crib tent, we put a bed sheet over it and tucked the corners under the legs/wheels. It prevents her from getting out. I don't know if that's an option for you, as I'm not sure how your girls would react to being covered, but ours do really well with the sheets as it allows less visual distraction when they should be sleeping.

I was going to suggest a crib tent as well. It might help, but might need a trial run as well... but if the sheets work, maybe. I think that would seriously tick my boys off. lol. But then again, a crib tent would too. lol.

I think in the room with you would be safer, because if they are getting into something you are right there. Good luck!

The twins didn't escape until close to 3, which means the youngest followed suit before she hit two.

We just continue to enforce the ONLY reason you get out of bed on your own is if you need to go potty, even with the youngest. It's working at this point, for the most part anyway.

Honestly crib tents scare the poo out of me. I just think, what if there's a fire and they can't get out!?! I'm sure it's silly. Crib bumpers never bothered me, and my kiddos had blankets, not sleep sacks too. I guess we all have our fears lol.

I do what Lina does. Tents make me feel like I'm caging my kids. They have been climbing out since 12 mths. I watched how they were climbing out to ensure they weren't getting hurt. They were like monkeys doing acrobats at a circus going even between cribs. As long as they were not getting hurt, I kept them in the crib and just returned them to bed if they got out at bedtime. They usually gave up after a few attempts initially, but there were times they would test the waters periodically which brought them to a time out, which they thought was no fun either. We started time outs at 12 months on bigger issues they intentionally created, such as hitting or climbing on the table or counters, etc. It's really no different than when they transitioned to toddler beds on their 2nd birthday. We explain the rules and the consequences and follow through when they don't listen. It's more often than not that they do listen. Good luck!

Mel, if your girls are really good sleepers it's perhaps not likely they'll get into any trouble in their PnPs at night. They might just stay in them and sleep once they've settled down. Can you keep a baby monitor on in case you need to come in and put them back to bed once or twice? It might be that they escape from them at daycare because they aren't in the mood to sleep there or they put them down too early or something.

My kids sleep on adult-size mattresses on the floor. They always have, since before they could roll over or crawl, and once they're asleep they've never once got up at night. I used to sleep between them but now they sleep on their own. I still lie down with them until they fall asleep but it only takes a few minutes most nights. In the morning and if they happen to wake up in the middle of the night they stay in bed and call me and only get up and stand in the doorway if I don't come within a few minutes. Their room is totally baby-proof, though, and we keep their door and ours open and close everything else at night. If they ever did wander, they could only crawl into bed with us.

My daughter has been able to climb out of or over everything since as long as I can remember and if she can't climb it she finds a way to knock it over. They both hate being confined in any way because I never got them used to it. We have 2 playpens set up: one of them is the toy chest, and the other is where we put stuff we don't want them to touch, like computers and telephones. We just moved and we basically left all our other furniture in storage! It's a little bare but so much easier right now.

Sarah- I, personally, feel that my girls will do great for a few days in the those sleeping bag/inflatable mattress combos. We can put a gate at the top of my parents stairs, use a baby monitor, and all should be good. They may end up sleeping together instead of separate, but who cares about that.

However, my mom made it clear yesterday that it creates too much anxiety for her. she worries that the girls could get out of a room and fall down the stairs or get into something. She said she will not sleep the entire weekend. So, my DH and I basically feel that we aren't welcome. My mom wants to get and pay for a hotel room for us. I just cannot ask my parents to do that. My mom retired in the spring and their income is a little more fixed. So, I am pretty sure that they will just have to come visit us. I am really disappointed. The family that owns the pumpkin farm is a family friend and we have so much fun every year. I was really looking forward to taking my girls there this year. They are finally big enough to enjoy the animals and some of the little rides with me.

Sarah- I, personally, feel that my girls will do great for a few days in the those sleeping bag/inflatable mattress combos. We can put a gate at the top of my parents stairs, use a baby monitor, and all should be good. They may end up sleeping together instead of separate, but who cares about that.

However, my mom made it clear yesterday that it creates too much anxiety for her. she worries that the girls could get out of a room and fall down the stairs or get into something. She said she will not sleep the entire weekend. So, my DH and I basically feel that we aren't welcome. My mom wants to get and pay for a hotel room for us. I just cannot ask my parents to do that. My mom retired in the spring and their income is a little more fixed. So, I am pretty sure that they will just have to come visit us. I am really disappointed. The family that owns the pumpkin farm is a family friend and we have so much fun every year. I was really looking forward to taking my girls there this year. They are finally big enough to enjoy the animals and some of the little rides with me.

A solution for the door is to get a child proof knob cover, put it on the knob that is inside the room and wrap it with duct tape to ensure they can't get it off. We use that for their room at night because them going down the stairs and opening the front door is my big fear. Just make sure she baby proofs (and I'm sure you'll do a run through when you get there) the room. If she refuses even after offering this idea, I would address your gut hunches with her to hopefully make her rethink what she's communicating. *Hugs*